PREVIEW | Back To Plainmoor To Take On Hartlepool United (28/10/17 | KO 3pm)

Buoyed by Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Ebbsfleet, United return to Plainmoor on Saturday to play Hartlepool United.

Sam Chaney, Jon-Paul Pittman, Jake Gosling, Myles Anderson, and Yan Klukowski returned to full training this week. They will work now on getting fit enough make a return to the match day squad. Rhys Murphy is the only injury doubt according to Owers who spoke to the press on Thursday.

“Rhys probably won’t make it,” said Owers. “He has twisted his ankle, but the positive is that although he will miss one game with the break [in fixtures] it might only be one game.

“In fairness he did it very early in the game [against Ebbsfleet] and he got through. It shows he has got a bit of spirit.”

After four points from two games, the Gaffer isn’t letting up on the standards that he believes the team can attain. The two week break that follows Saturday’s games can play out very differently for the squad depending on the result.

“It will only be a good week if we get a result on Saturday. We’ve gone away from home and put in two really good performances, I think. We’ve got four points for our rewards. The big thing for me is Saturday, trying to reproduce one of those performances for our supporters.

“I have asked them for a big performance on Saturday and if they can get that then they can look forward to an enjoyable, or a more enjoyable couple of weeks. If we don’t get that then we’ll be working harder than ever for the next game.”

There has been plenty of focus on the change in formation Owers has made for the last two games. There are options that the Gaffer is working into the squad to enable the team to adapt if needed.

“If we are working on one shape, then we try and back it up with a few more options. If we change then the lads know what is happening.”

Hartlepool have made steady progress since a difficult start to their debut National League season. They have two win and three draws from their previous five games. They sit in 14th place with 24 points. Jonathan Franks is the Monkey Hangers’ leading scorer with five league goals.